Vladivostok's
geographic location made it an important strategic base for Russia's
Navy. In 1872 the Port of Vladivostok began to grow when the country's
main naval base was located there.
The Port of Vladivostok is the
eastern last stop on Russia's Northern Sea Route that stretches from on
the country's northeastern shores near Finland. It is the principal base
for supplies for Russia's Arctic ports to the east of Cape Chelyuskin.
The
arrival of the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1903 connected the Port of
Vladivostok to Manchuria and gave the port a better connection to the
rest of the Russian Empire and enhanced its importance as a major center
in eastern Russia. The Port of Vladivostok was important as a military
port that received supplies from the United States during World War I.
When
the Russian Revolution of 1917 began, the Port of Vladivostok was
occupied by foreign forces, primarily the Japanese, who stayed there
until the early 1920s. After they left the city, the Port of Vladivostok
became important to the new Soviet Government.
The Port of
Vladivostok continued to be the home of Russia's Pacific Fleet after the
USSR took control. It grew considerably after World War IIas a military
base, and the Port of Vladivostok was closed to foreign shipping
between the late 1950s and the end of the Soviet era in the early 1990s.
After
the fall of Communism in Russia, the Port of Vladivostok emerged as a
commercial port with links to other eastern Russian ports as well as
countries of the Far East. It began to import consumer goods from Japan,
China, and other nations. The port is ice-free all year round, and in
2002 had a foreign trade turnover worth $275 million
